Silver Card

Chapter 5: Gray World

Alan exerts himself to not look behind—every thought and emotion that streams his body urges Alan to focus only on running. No fighting, no freezing, no thinking, just running. Alan's heart beat intensifies. Well, aside from seeing horrifying monsters, he was also exhausted from chasing Eula's kidnapper. As his only asset, Alan modulates the tempo. He takes a breath, holds it for 4 seconds, and throws it out steadily . He repeats that sequence as he runs as fast as he can while looking for a place to hide.

Throughout the terror-stricken escape, Alan found a small clinic with an open door. He decides to look behind him to see if the monsters are on his tail—Alan sees no creature behind him. Knowing that, he rushes inside and closes the door. His body falls on a couch, taking heavy breaths as he rests.

Huff... Huff... Huff... A sea of emotions whirl around his mind. Fear, confusion, anger, and despair—he couldn't control them. His schedule was to return to his apartment and play video games till his eyes got heavy from the bright screen. He never planned to be stuck in an unknown dark world. He never planned to be chased by monsters that eat human body parts. He never planned to run to the abyss.

Hold on, how come they didn't follow me? A thought appears in his brain calms the discomforting stream in his body. Alan is an average runner among his class. So the fact that the presumed "monsters" didn't follow him is unusual for him. The creatures have different human body parts on their mouth, so Alan presumed they capture a human and eat them alive. But could it be because they only eat corpses? If so, that explains why the creatures didn't chase him.

Or perhaps, it is because they are actually invisible and were chasing him the whole time. That idea made Alan's eyes widen as he analyzes his surroundings to see if there is an object he can use as a shield or a weapon to survive. Rounded glass table, plant, couch, paintings, counter. None of them fits his needs. All of them are too heavy or risky to use as he himself is too weak and exhausted.

"Excuse me..." A human-like voice freezes Alan. "Are you hurt? You look pale." Alan slowly looks to his left to determine the source of the voice. "My name is Emmet. I'm not a Corrumpo so I won't hurt you."

Alan has no idea what a "Corrumpo" is. He assumes it's the name of the creatures that he encountered. But he is having doubts about the boy's words. "You may not be a Corrumpo or whatever that is. But you're not human, right?" Alan takes a deep breath before he continues, "No human can survive with that head" He points to the boy's head that is missing a quarter.

"This is just from an accident," the boy tried to explain himself.

Alan has no second thoughts. He swiftly runs outside, performing his breathing technique to keep up his pace. "Wait, I'm not a bad guy!" The mysterious boy shouts. Alan did not trust him, he preferred to not gamble his life. To his surprise, Emmet catches up with him and runs next to Alan without showing any expression of exhaustion. "I'm not a Corrumpo. I'm just a ghost."

"Well, I'm a human!" Feeling frightened, Alan runs harder than he hopes. This time, he manages to put distances away from Emmet.

Alan did not look around when he was running for his life. He did not care. To him, everywhere in this mysterious gray world is a danger to him and it makes no difference where he hides. First are strange small creatures that eat human fingers and now a ghost with a caved head. What are the ranges of beasts in this world? A zombie? A dragon? Or a demon?

Unknowingly, Alan enters his school and pushes the door open, making him fall to the ground. He hurriedly stands and climbs up to the top floor. The school he considers his second home has become something extremely unfamiliar. The eerie gray atmosphere clouds his head. Aware of his uncontrolled breathing, Alan enters his class and hides in the corner.

I'm gonna die... Alan's throat feels sore and his legs go numb. He can't lift his head as he coughs on the floor. He doesn't care if there will be a monster barging in and attack him. He won't try to run if the small 'Corrumpos' charges at him and devour him bit by bit. He won't escape if the crashed head ghost attacks him. At this moment, his fatigueness is the closest thing to killing him. He can feel dying out of exhaustion, his energy being drained by the dusky ambience. Alan found himself staring at the ceiling, the dark emptiness forces Alan to hold his trembling right hand and close his eyes.

...

...

...

How come the darkness feels more reassuring than the world around me?

Alan hopes the world he is in right now is a dream. Or rather, a nightmare. A nightmare that took his parents. A nightmare that keeps him away from Clara. A nightmare that stole his world. If that is the case, he wants to wake up as soon as he can. I don't want to live in this world anymore...

"Oh, don't say that. I have baked this pie for you. Don't waste it." A bubble of memory tinkers his head. As he focuses on that memory, multiple pictures appear, and those pictures slowly turn into a movie.

"But I don't like strawberries, aunt Jessica." said Alan.

"Just because you don't like strawberries, doesn't mean you don't like strawberry flavored foods. You have to try everything before you make a claim," Jessica commented as she put a triangle shaped strawberry pie in front of him.

Alan looks at Jessica, analyzing her face. "Look, you don't need to try hard to be a parent for me. I'm okay."

Jessica stops for a moment, "I'm not trying hard to be a parent for you, Alan." She speaks slowly and gently like how mother usually does, guess it runs in the family. "I'm trying hard to be your aunt. Your parents are wingless angels, no one can replace them." Alan's eyes start to tear up, he tries his best to hold it in. "You were only 9 when the accident happened. Someone has to be by your side in this... gray world and I happen  to be the only one around who can take care of you."

"Does that mean if there are more available uncles or aunt, you wouldn't want to take care of me?" asked Alan.

"Of course, I don't do good with children. I could barely take care of myself." Jessica's comment made Alan chuckle.

"Guess you have overdone yourself, then." Alan praises with a smile.

"Absolutely, and as a reward for my hard work, you should try the pie," Jessica pushes the dish closer to Alan.

Alan grabs a nearby knife and fork, he reluctantly bites the pie. He slowly samples it to examine the taste. To his surprise, the taste is better than he pictured. Alan glances at Jessica, he notices her sarcastic expression. "It's good, isn't it?" Jessica sees through Alan.

Alan nods, "It's better than I expected."

"Guess my theory works, then." Jessica laughs, Alan laughs with her.

The movie in Alan's head ends as he takes a peek at the ceiling, it manages to comfort him. A mix of emotions swirl around Alan's head and chest. He wonders how Calvin and Aiden would react when he disappears. How hard aunt Jessica would hug him. What expression Clara would make when he returned.

But most of all he wants to do one thing once he returns back to his home, "I want to try the strawberry pie again." That desire is enough for him as a conviction to clear up his head and stabilize his emotions.

Alan slowly gets up, he analyzes his surroundings first. After confirming that the place is clear. He decides to search for a weapon or a shield he can use. He plans to search the school and the supermarket. He then imagines multiple scenarios on what he should do if there are monsters nearby.

After preparing himself, Alan takes a step forward with his chest upwards and his head stares forward. But every cell in his body suddenly froze when he notices a gigantic dark humanoid head and bright eyes outside the window.